


Repeating The Cycle

by Spyloaf



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DC Extended Universe, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But please excuse if it is, But that's only because I needed them for the story idea to work, English teacher!Jason Todd, Gen, I wrote this in like 2 and a half hours so I apologize if this is horrible lol, Jayroy is implied at the end, M/M, Not beta read we die like the robins, There are like original student characters, crack kinda?, they aren't like fully fleshed out OCs of mine or anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:55:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27256789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spyloaf/pseuds/Spyloaf
Summary: Jason Todd becomes a high school english teacher in Crime Alley, while still being the Red Hood, and he apparently has inherited Bruce's knack for taking in kids.
Relationships: Roy Harper/Jason Todd - If you squint
Comments: 3
Kudos: 55





	Repeating The Cycle

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! Thanks for reading! I just wanna warn that this isn't beta read and I'm shit at grammar and proof reading, so please excuse any grammatical errors!! Anyways enjoy!

Jason Todd’s life hadn’t been normal since that night in Crime Alley where The Batman basically kidnapped him -- well, he asked if Jason wanted to see the batcave first, but still! Who does that? Especially, when The Bat turned out to be a billionaire who ended up adopting him. His life changed again when he died, and was then subsequently resurrected. His life had never been normal per say. However, normal was something Jason wanted to give a try. To get a job, have a life outside of the masks, friends outside of the ones who also had alter egos. He wanted to give it a try.

So, Jason did just that. He went to Bruce telling him he wanted to teach, and the old bat helped him get his GED and then his masters required in order to teach. It’s probably strange trying to picture the Red Hood, the protector of Crime Alley, masked, gun-toting vigilante, as a high school english teacher. But, that’s exactly what he did. Look, he wanted to make a difference in the kids of Crime Alley’s life, and not as some billionaire’s son who never spoke to them on their level and just poured money into their school, but as someone who had a consistent presence in their lives. Someone they could connect with on a personal level. 

So, far his gig at the local High School in Park Row, Gotham’s worst neighborhood, was going well. He had been there for the last four years, and he didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. The only problem was the few brats who thought they were better than the teacher, but he could work around it (Jason also couldn’t judge them much because he used to be one of those kids). Overall the kids were good kids though, he was able to make an actual impact in their lives. 

Jason straightened out his grey button-up before looking at the clock, the kids would be showing up for their first period soon. His first bell was a standard English course for juniors, nothing too hard. He took a long sip of his coffee before looking back at his laptop, he had been keeping up with some research for his “night job” aka a drug ring that’s been targeting kids at  _ his _ school recently. They weren’t gonna get out of this alive if he had a say in anything.

That’s when the first of his students started walking in, he quickly closed out of that screen, couldn’t have anyone catching onto anything. It was 7:40am at this point. His whole first period trickled in slowly after that, there was a bit of buzz going around the room, gossip from the weekend before probably since it was Monday. He didn’t overhear anything suspicious from the students, but they weren’t stupid enough to talk about that kind of thing in the open. 

Jason’s first few periods went by uneventfully, that was until it was his lunch, which he usually ate alone in his room, however, today one of his students joined him. Her name was Grace, nice girl, good student, she was a senior, but not the type to come get help during lunch. It was odd to say the least. 

“Mr. Todd? Do you mind if I eat with you today?” She asked, hesitantly waiting in the doorway.

Jason waved her in, “Yeah, you’re always welcome by. Do you need help with anything?”   
He was confused, she usually didn’t do things like this.

“Uhm,” She sat down at the desk closest to his, “Well, not with school work, but, uhm I’m concerned about a few of my friends and I was wondering if I could ask for advice?”  
“Just so you know, if you blatantly tell me that they’re doing anything illegal, I am legally obligated to report it, so be careful with your words.” He knew reporting some issues would just make them worse, especially in Gotham. Jim Gordon could try to root out the police corruption as much as he wanted, but he was one man and the police have remained corrupt for as long as Jason could remember. And, Arkham isn’t much better, they say it has a revolving door for a reason.

“Yeah, I know,” She laughed, “Well, I think they’re getting in deep with things that’s gonna end up hurting them. I know they have good intentions, but they’re going to get hurt! And, I don’t want to see any of them hurt, let alone killed! Which is a very real possibility, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

_ Oh was he aware.  _

But, that was not what he was expecting. Maybe drinking, drugs, or gang stuff, not possible vigilante wannabes.

“So, let me get this straight: your friends are trying to play Batman and Robin? Is that right?” He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, she dropped her head into her hands.

“Yes! That’s exactly what they’re doing!” Grace exclaimed gesturing widely, “I keep telling them its stupid, and that they’ve got no training or anything, but they keep insisting!”

Jason took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, “Have you ever gone out and helped them?”

Her face flushed. “Well, yes, but I thought they were joking! And, I also wanted to try and stop them from doing something stupid!” She sighed, “So what do you suggest I do? I know it’s kind of a strange situation.” 

“Well, in my experience, you can’t stop someone from doing something like that when they have that inclination. It’s a choice you make, and that you can never go back on. It’s sort of like a deal with the devil, a contract written in blood saying that you will remain a vigilant mind your whole life, until the life that you’ve chosen kills you or crime stops. And, we both know that only one of those outcomes are actually plausible.”

Grace looked at him with wide eyes, “So are you trying to say that I shouldn’t  _ do _ anything?” She seemed slightly angry now, “Should I just let them get themselves  _ killed? _ ”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t try, I’m just saying that it’ll be tough to convince them not to.” He smiled at her, “Plus, if you don’t think one of the bats is already on the case, you’ve got the wrong impression of them. And, they’re probably ten steps ahead of your friends in the investigation.”

She laughed at that, “I guess you’re right. Plus, if a bat is on it, then they probably already know of their involvement.”  _ Oh, they didn’t till just now, but sure, think that if it helps you sleep at night. _

“Can I ask what they’re investigating? And, no, telling me this part will not get them reported because technically it’s just conspiracy without proof.” Jason was curious, but also this could help further his own case. He needed to know if there were more people involved that he would have to look out for other than just himself.

“Something to do with some drug ring,”  _ well shit, _ “They think they’ve been selling some stuff to some of the kids here. But, you didn’t hear that from me!” Jason laughed, she was almost overly concerned about not getting anyone in trouble. It reminded her of Dick when he was trying to mediate some discretion between their siblings.

“Ah, well then tell them to stay safe, drug dealers don’t care who you are or how old you are, only if they can get something out/from you.” 

That’s when the bell rang signaling that lunch had ended.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow! Stay safe and make sure you’re friends don’t do anything stupid! You’re a good kid, I know you can do it!”

“Thanks, Mr. Todd! See ya’!” Grace waved exiting the room. 

The rest of the day went by in a blur, Jason was too focused on what Grace had revealed to him.  _ God, I know her friends! They’re smart kids, what do they think they’re doing!  _ He thinks, but he can’t really blame them when one of his brothers did the same exact thing for years without ever getting caught once. Tim even took pictures of them! So, he can’t be too surprised that he hadn’t picked up on them yet.

Oh god, what was he going to do?

  
  


That night he was on edge even more than usual. He departed from one of his safe houses as soon as the sun went down, going to the roof of a building next to one of the abandoned warehouses in Park Row, one that supposedly was where the ring’s next shipment was stored. However, instead of just looking out for dealers and the suppliers, he also had to look out for a group of teens that thought they could take down a whole drug ring alone without any training and minimal supplies. They weren’t even metas! Or, were they? He hadn’t considered that until just now.

He was watching the warehouse through a pair of binoculars, his helmet sitting on the floor of the roof next to him. That’s when he heard the kids in the alley below. 

Grace was there, as were her friends: Mavis and Wren. They were all dressed in all black, classic, hoodies pulled tightly over their heads as if it would conceal their identities. Jason took a deep breath and picked up his helmet, putting away the binoculars. He quickly put his helmet on and slowly descended the fire escape on one of the buildings further down the alley, so as to not alarm them right away. He stuck closely to the shadows, trying to disappear within them -- that was one good thing Bruce taught him. He was trying to hear what they were talking about, if he didn’t have to engage then he wouldn’t.

“I don’t understand why you guys are doing this!” That was Grace. “You guys don’t know what you’re doing! You’ll get yourselves killed!”

“Grace! Does it look like we don’t know what we’re doing?” Ah that was Mavis, she was fiery. Jason always liked her. “We were able to track their shipment location!”

Okay, maybe these kids were good.

He is absolutely not telling replacement about this. He would never live it down.

“But, you don't know what they’ll do! What if they catch you guys? Huh? What if you get killed?”

“Not everything is so dark, Grace! Have some hope!” That was Jonah. Now, he understood why the kid always wore Nightwing merch, it’s because he was a painful optimist. 

“I’m not being dark, Jonah! I’m being realistic!”  
“Okay Grace, I think it’s time you left!” Mavis angrily whispered at her friend.

“I’m not leaving! Not until you both come home with me!” She looked like she was about to cry. “I can’t lose you guys too!”

That’s right, they all lived at the nearby group home together. They’re probably the closest thing any of them have to family. Wow, the irony is strong here isn't it?

Before Jonah or Mavis could reply to that there was a shout from the other end of the alley.  _ Shit, _ Jason thought. Now he had to engage with them, he couldn’t live with himself if any of them got hurt.

“What are you kids doing!” Some armed goon shouted, Jason couldn’t see any specific gang logos on him.

“Trying to stop you guys-” Mavis began before Jason came up behind her and pushed her out of the way.

“I suggest you leave this to professionals,” Jason said looking over at the girl, luckily his voice was masked by his helmet. “Now, you! Do you even know how to work that?”

The goon looked both angry and scared, he had definitely heard the rumors of The Red Hood. He fumbled with the assault rifle he was holding before Jason could run up to him and knock it out of his hands. The fight wasn’t exactly hard, the goon surrendered pretty easily. However, the kids just stood behind him in shock. Mavis looked more excited than anything though, _ oh no.  _ He could not give her any ideas! 

The goon discarded his rifle and ran off in the opposite direction of the warehouse, which was probably good. If no one was here, Jason would have finished the job and put a bullet in man’s head for selling to children, but he also didn’t want to traumatize the ones watching. So, he did what every sane vigilante did: walk straight over to the children watching him in awe.

“You three, with me, now.” He waved them on leading them to a back alley, towards one of his safehouses. 

“You’re the Red Hood!” Mavis said, eyes gleaming. “I’m a big fan! I mean, obviously, I am from Crime Alley and you are our protector.” 

“Mhm, thanks kid.” He looked back at her, “Now, what were you all doing there?”

Mavis was the only one who looked excited, Grace looked like she was about to throw up, and Jonah, well, he seemed a bit more hesitant.  _ Ah, yes, he was definitely a Nightwing fan then. _

“Well, we had started investigating this potential drug ring,” Mavis began walking besides him rather than behind him. “And, we traced their shipment back here, but I’m sure you already know that.”

“I was trying to stop them.” Grace added, “Just thought I’d mention that.”

“We wanted to help though! We didn’t want to just sit around and wait anymore! We wanted to make a difference too!” Jonah exclaimed. Wow, he really reminded Jason of Duke saying that.

Jason took a deep breath, stopping at the entrance to the safehouse, carefully keying in the passcode and opening the door. He led them into the abandoned building, locking the door behind them. The lights and electricity kicked on immediately and the kids found themselves awkwardly standing in the middle of the room.

“Uhm, you’re not going to kill us are you?” Grace asked with wide eyes.

Jason laughed, “Oh no! And, please sit down, make yourselves comfortable!” He slid off his leather jacket and placed it on one of the hooks on the wall. “I just wanted to talk to you all for a bit.”

They all settled in somewhat easily, Grace was still very much on guard, Jonah as well but to a lesser extent. Mavis was completely relaxed. Okay, yeah, this just made him like her more.

“What you did was reckless, but I’m sure you know that already.” Jason sighed, “I’m not gonna stand here and reprimand you, okay? I know that’s useless, you’ll continue to do it whether I tell you to or not.”

“Wait, is the helmet actually your head?” Jonah questioned, “Like, you haven’t taken it off, which has to be uncomfortable.”

Mavis elbowed him from the seat next to his.  
“It’s called keeping a secret identity, kid.” He shook his head, “Now, I wanna know how you three are getting away with all of this. Where’s your guardians at?”

“We live in a group home together Mr.Hood, they don’t really care what we do, they’re really only there for the checks.” Grace said twiddling her thumbs nervously. 

Jason just let out a laugh, “Please, never call me Mr. Hood again, just Red Hood or Hood is fine. Anyways, that explains a lot.

“Wait! Are you serious about not stopping us?” Mavis exclaimed, “And, if so why not?”  
“Like I said, I know you won’t listen, because if it were up to me you would quit it immediately and I would never see you three out there again.”  
“Why!? We obviously have the chops!” Again, this shouldn’t make Jason like her more, but it does. She really reminds him of himself before he died. “I know what you’re trying to do! You’re using reverse psychology! Why should I listen to you? You’re just some guy, who I don’t know!”

“I thought you were a ‘big fan?’” Mavis’ face went red. “And, maybe because I’ve been doing this for as long as you’ve been alive?”  _ I died doing this once _ , he wanted to say.

“So, you were one of the previous Robins! I knew it!” Jonah almost screamed, he had never heard the kid talk so loudly, he was usually rather soft spoken.

“Yeah I was once upon a time,” Jason smiled sadly under his helmet, “But, that doesn’t matter. If I hadn’t been there, you three would have gotten killed or kidnapped!”

“Again, why do you care? You don’t even know us!” Mavis was standing up at this point.

“That’s what Vigilantes do, they help people they don’t know.”

“You never take them back to your base though!”

“This is a safehouse. Not the Batcave.”

“Still, I’ve read enough forms and accounts about you! You barely interact with those you save! So, why the hospitality with us? Huh?” Mavis put her hands on her hips.

“Kid, there’s a lot more going on that you don’t know about. Being a vigilante isn’t easy, and you can’t be so reckless, you will get yourself killed. Even us Bats get hurt! I don’t think I need to go into details here, but I can if I need to!”

He was hoping this would get to her.

“She’s right though, Hood, why are you doing this all for us?” This time it was Grace, she was looking at him strangely.

Now, what Jason was about to do was extremely stupid, like really stupid. Like, Bruce would kill him if he was here. Actually, no, this is probably something Bruce would do.

Jason just looked at them all before dipping his down and pulling his helmet off, usually he wears a domino underneath it, just for extra measures. But, he had a feeling something like this was going to happen tonight. Not that it mattered, his hair was fairly identifiable.

“I care because I know you're all smarter than this!” They just stared at Jason agap. He guesses they never thought of the possibility that their teacher could be a vigilante, especially not the one who notoriously murders criminals.

“M-Mr. Todd?” The color from Grace’s face drained, “I can’t believe it! Is that really you?”

“Yes, it is,” He smirked, “I hope none of you guys tell anyone about this. That would be bad for my career.”

Mavis and Jonah just stared at him.

“I can’t believe this!” Mavis shook her head, “I guess you do have probable reasons to be concerned then…”

“I’d sure hope so!”

“Now, you said you lived in a group home right?” They all shook their heads, “How about we change that? I think I know some people who’d be willing to help train you all, since you’ve made it clear that you won’t be stopping anytime soon. That is if you want to, of course.”

“Please, don’t be kidding because of course!” Mavis was almost a mirror of him when he was offered the Robin position all those years ago. Her friends, no- family, seemed to agree with her. Group homes were the worst, he understood that more than anyone else. 

“Okay, okay!” Jason pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, “Let me make a few calls about where you’ll be staying tonight, we’ll talk more about training tomorrow.”

He quickly dialed the first number, “Hey, Roy! We’re gonna have some guests tonight, if you could prepare the guest rooms that would be great!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! Please kudos and comment! I really enjoy talking to people, so comments are very much appreciated! 
> 
> If you want to talk my tumblr is @Wondergirl-Lovebot !
> 
> Thanks again for reading!! And again, sorry for any grammar mistakes!


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